A Light in the Dark

Meet some of the people featured in the January/February 2020 issue of The Scientist.

We may not have personal jetpacks yet, but the past decade has been marked by life-science revolutions, and the coming years have even more biological breakthroughs in store.

Take a break from the bench to puzzle and peruse.

Training young scientists to review submitted manuscripts should be an academic exercise, not a facet of professional scientific publishing.

They’ve survived volcanic eruptions, but one Caribbean island’s mountain chicken frogs might need help from scientists to escape the lethal chytrid fungus.

A tool for identifying jumping gene insertions in DNA sequencing data turns up possible explanations for four patients’ rare developmental disorders.

As global temperatures rise and winters shorten, caterpillars of the corn borer moth are emerging earlier in parts of the US thanks to changes in two genes, researchers find.

An accumulation of T cells and astrocytes in postmortem brain tissue hints at possible autoimmune origins for many cases of autism.

Using reverse genetics, researchers create antibodies to reel in previously uncultured bacteria.

A newly identified group of viruses may help suppress eukaryotes’ immune response and promote tolerance of endosymbiotic bacteria.

Eggs from girls and from older women show higher rates of errors in chromosome number.

The invertebrate predators prey on and lay their eggs near emerging tadpoles, potentially threatening the conservation of endangered frogs, researchers find.

Working with bacteriophages and nematodes, the University of California, Berkeley, molecular biologist uncovered a role for genetic switches in early development.

The Tel Aviv University researcher is interested in how the macromolecules affect the health and behavior of successive generations of worms.

The midwestern state has quietly laid the groundwork for a biotech hub.

A new book explores the crosstalk between mind and body and how it helps humans navigate their worlds.

Florence Sabin was known for her pioneering research and efforts to support women in science.

Clues about the biological mechanisms that contribute to a person’s chance of contemplating or attempting suicide

With millions of pigs killed due to a major outbreak of African swine fever virus in Asia, researchers have intensified efforts to find a vaccine quickly.

Understanding how domestic pigs can be infected with the deadly virus could be key to protecting them from it.

African swine fever virus has left the continent on three occasions, causing outbreaks in Europe, the Americas, and most recently, East Asia.

The way in which mRNA transcripts are cut can influence the elasticity of the organ.

Researchers suggest the viruses can help endosymbiotic bacteria get along with their hosts.

Sequence data from previously uncultured microorganisms provide the information necessary for their capture.